#TChat Radio is all new on Tuesday, February 12, 2013, at 7:30 pm ET (4:30 pm PT).   There’s just too many of them; there are 4.8 million people who are known as "the long-term unemployed” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are people who have been out of work for 27 weeks or more, and in fact make up almost 40 percent of all unemployed people. The current average period a person in the U.S. stays unemployed is about 40 weeks, which is just way too long. Employers who are hiring won’t hire them and states like New Jersey, Oregon and the District of Columbia passed laws in 2011 and 2012 so employers couldn’t discriminate against the unemployed. There was also a bill in California for the same law but it was vetoed by the Governor. What to do? Should we further legislate who we can or can’t hire? Should the unemployed be given a fair shake if they do everything in their power to remain relevant and up-to-date with skills through contracting and volunteering? Jobs don’t appear magically, so who and what creates them? This week’s #TChat explores this continuing conundrum on what both the employers can and should do and what the unemployed can and should do to make their business case and close the gaps. Join co-creators and hosts, Meghan M. Biro and Kevin W. Grossman and their informative expert guests:   Dr. Janice Presser (@DrJanice), CEO and a Principal of The Gabriel Institute, and architect of the underlying technology that powers Teamability™. Kevin Matuszak (@Tooozy), our very special guest who will talk about his creative #HireKevin campaign to work at Applebee's! You won't want to miss it so we hope to see you here!